You know the saying, “slow and steady wins the race?” Well, The great folk-tale writer Aesop forgot to mention that “taking-things-slow,” can be a real pain in the ass. Let me tell you from personal experience, the torture of having to wait (from the perspective of an impatient person) is like having a thousand needles filling your brain, causing your head to feel heavy – and every couple of minutes throughout the day, the needles pick at your brain; reminding you that you are not going as fast as you want to.

In a much more simpler (and, let’s face it, not as Goth-y) of an analogy – it’s like sitting in the seat of a race car, with a younger sibling in the passenger seat, and you’re trying to be careful so you don’t have an accident, but your sibling (I.E. the creative conscious) is screaming in your ear…

However, the dividends of remaining calm and patient pay in a bountiful sum. After a year and a half of playing acoustic shows, I finally pulled together a group of guys that have “The sound.” It was an amazing experience when we played together on the second week of rehearsal, and we already had an open mic set-list down. Months of crappy musicians, months of flakes, and now suddenly, I had the group. I knew that things were changing.

That same day, February 14th, I received the most delightful news. Over christmas break, I made contact with a local Twin Cities Indie Rock group called “Like Trees.” After they liked one of my tracks on Soundcloud, I decided to check them out. I was pleasantly amazed when I caught a really relaxing and melodic sound. It perfectly incapsulates the feeling of chilling in the shower at the PERFECT temperature. Seriously, I make a point to tell people to check out bands – it’s not a joking matter to me. I’m “fur-reelz” here: YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT “LIKE TREES.” Here’s my favorite song of their’s so far: “Jonah.” From the album, “We Stand at the Door.”

So, anyways, after messaging the group to tell them how much I liked their stuff, I was contacted back by Micah Chibana – “Like Trees,” himself. It seems that Micah and I were (and are still somewhat in) the same situation in our musical groups respectively:

started as a solo project,

needing to find members to play live shows,

still the band leader – but it’s no longer a solo project, it’s a group effort.

However, the difference between me and Chibana is that he is the next step ahead. What I wanted to do, he was already doing – PLAYING SHOWS! It was like I was Daniel from the Karate Kid, and I just met my Mr. Miagi! When I got back from break, I caught his group opening for “Sonic Coitus,” (whom you should also check out and enjoy here ->https://soundcloud.com/sonic-coitus) and they had a pretty killer set. After meeting Micah face-to-face, I mentioned, “Dude, I gotta tell ya – it’s tough for me to book shows sometime. On top of having a very small draw since we’re just starting to get into the live scene, I psych myself out sometimes before even messaging a venue. I want to make sure I play the right venues, with the right groups. So let me tell you, if you need anyone…..ANYONE to open for you; no matter the date, time, or event, I will be there with bells on.”

February 14th, I received my answer to that request. Micah Chibana asked if we would like to play a show February 27th, opening for “Like Trees,” at Golden’s Deli.

This was one of those “moments.” You know, they are the moments often highlighted in “Behind the Music,” specials (and not the parts that include the phrase, “but that was when ______’s addiction took a dark turn”). This was the “big shot.” Although small in comparison to shows we hope to get later on, this was going to be the “first” show. The vibe could not have been better. It was an indescribable feeling I felt when I read that message. There were levels of excitement I’ve never felt before, with an almost Zen-like contentment along with it. Everything about the situation, from the venue to the band, to the timing and the date….it all just felt, “right.”

My bandmates felt the same, and we immediately told Like Trees, “We’re in.”

I can’t express how grateful I am to Micah Chibana and all of “Like Trees.” I will forever be indebted to them – always.

With that said, let’s meet the cast and crew of the new and improved: “The Owl-Eyes.”

Eric “The Fuzz,” Timke

Coming out of Montgomery, New York, “The Fuzz,” started on the bass at the age of 12 years old. In 2003, three years later after picking up the bass, Erik moved to the guitar – where he soon discovered his passion. Starting on a hand-me-down acoustic, Erik quickly got the basics, and then moved on to buying his first electric guitar for $25 dollars from a friend – who had the guitar left-over by another friend who went to prison (…wow…hardcore Eirk……seriously). He has been a previous member of several East Coast bands: “Peaches,” “Pinkston,” and “Franky Salmon and the Big Fat Tuna,” just to name a few.

Erik left home at age 18. At age 23, Erik came to that same crazy conclusion all musicians come to, and decided to make music a career. He went to McNally Smith College of Music to study guitar performance. Since coming to McNally, he changed guitar performance to an associates, picked up a minor in songwriting, and is now focusing on a Bachelor of Arts in Science, as a production major. On top of all this, he got the money to come to McNally by giving guitar lessons for about 2 years: one of the many signs that Mr.Timke is truly one of the most dedicated musicians “The Owl-Eyes” has met.

We call Erik “The fuzz,” because of his sound. He lists his influences as Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jack White, Jimi Hendrix, Dan Auerbach, and Josh Homme. Erik is often quoted to saying, “I work 10-15 hours a day toward my dreams.”

It will always come to pass, “The fuzz” will kick your ass!

Zahk “The Pulse,” Peterson.

We call Zahk “The Pulse,” because without a beat, there is no life. Without Zahk, “The Owl-Eyes,” often can’t breath. Always flowing with kindness, with a sharp wit and intellect that keeps the group up to date on politics, Zahk is a determined force not to be messed-around with, unless you like the feel of hard-rock grooves pummeling your ass to DEATH!!!!

Hailing from Kassan, MN, Zahk Peterson began playing drums in the 5th grade. Since then, Zahk has made a career playing percussion in both live-music-bands and in stage-show musicals. While the list of musicals is a mighty long one, bands that Zahk has provided drums for include (but are not limited to): My Haunted Past, Swing Street, Uptown Jazz, Gate of Like, D-KO, The Rares, and finally, THE OWL-EYES.

Zahk is also the youngest member of The Owl-Eyes. Currently 19 years old and a Freshman of McNally Smith, we got a lot to teach to Zahk. The world is a cold dark place buddy, but it’s a hell of a ride: and The Owl-Eyes will be are tricked out mecha-vehical, that we shall ride in the apocalyptic wasteland of the music industry, towards rock Vahalla.

Jonny “Fucknuts,” Capello

Hey, he decided upon that nickname folks – not me.

With his most notable projects being “Eden,” and “NatanYeal,” Jonny Cappello has had a pretty significant input and presence on the current Twin Cities music scene. For example, on top of playing in The Akadia and Turf Club (two REALLY important clubs in the Twin Cities Music Scene), “Eden,” has played shows in front of more than 700 people, and have played in venues such First Avenue, the Fine Line Cafe, and Station 4. Additionally, the band received radio play on stations all over the Midwest, from KAXE in Bemidji to KCOU in Missouri; AND ON TOP OF THAT, they’ve opened for a National Act before, “The Material.”

Ok, with that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the show we played about a month ago.

I apologize for the fact that I didn’t update this site with a new-show-added post or blog/story. In all honesty, things get real crazy when you become a college student with a girlfriend – and the time that you could spend on being a self-sufficient rock machine and writing your own GD blog post ends up getting filled with either course work, rehearsal, food, sex, or sleep.

But I’m doing it now!

Well….not “It,” but…whatever, here’s how the show went down:

up-to-our-standards spectacular!

We brought high energy music, and in return, we got the whole bar to come around and see us perform. I’m not making this up. The feeling is glorious! And although sound tech took FOREVER and cost us 15 minutes at the top, it was a really relaxed show – so there was no major time limit. After waiting out the technical problems, we played our show loud and without reserve. It felt amazing to finally be playing with a band, and on top of that, we’re playing music that I’ve written when I was 14! Folks, this is what dreams are made of.

And yes, I understand how cheesy and self-defeating that last sentence sounds when you approach it like a skeptical music fan. It almost sounds like a cheesy pop-metalcore group with a maximum band member age at 15, bragging to their high school friend about playing on a flatbed trailer in the backyard of his own house for his own birthday. I get it.

But rather than bore you some more, perhaps I can just show you…click the underlined and highlighted text below to view the video on Facebook.

Crazy lil Lady @ Golden’s 02/27/16We want to thank everyone who came out last night to Golden’s Lowertown. Like Trees was phenomnally indie, pure, and sweetly melodic (as always) and I heard from a ton of people that we brought the ENERGY that night. Suffice to say, video evidence would be handy right no- OH WAIT! LOL. Here’s a video, and attached below in the comments is a photo: both taken from The Owl-Eyes number one supporter, Skye Lynn Fueller. Girl, you rock! With many thankful regards, The Owl-Eyes

That’s right. The magic continues. Approximately a week from now, we plan to take the stage at The Bedlam in Down Town Saint Paul, and melt your freakin’ FACES!!! I am super excited for this show!!! The two biggest reasons are the groups on the bill.

I’ve talked about Timisarocker to death. If you haven’t caught wind of my ceaseless praise for this alternative rock group; here’s the idea in a nutshell. Imagine the disco and funk sensibilities of Prince, combined with the speed, aggression, and guitar tones of punk rock.

Better yet, here’s a video of them in action.

But opening for Splimit is the cherry on top of this sweet delicious success sundae. Splimit is a freaking amazing group, and they have achieve a notoriety among the Twin Cities music scene as one of the wildest punk bands playing. Not in a G.G. Allen sort-of-way, but they are not necessarily clean either. Their house parties are a perfect example of the type of insanity their live performance brings to the music. Seeing as how this will be a +21 plus show, I can imagine it will be one huge rock party of awesomeness.

Here’s a track of theirs. Picture a 18th century royalty themed party, that is suddenly interrupted by three teenagers out of nowhere – all hopped up on Kickstart MTN. DEW and Svedka. They attack the party goer’s with Silly string and stuff their faces (the boys’ and the victims’ faces) with grilled cheese sandwiches. 2 and half minutes later, the boys vanish without a trace: leaving everyone in a happy and delirious state.

Please, Please, Please – I hope to see all Saint Paul music fan’s out there ready to have a good time. This is a show not to be missed. Support local music, yada yada, and all that fan-fare; but I’m not joking here. Opening or not, I will go to this show. If “The Owl-Eyes” can’t tickle your pickle, “Splimit,” and “Timisarocker,” certainly will.